Key Takeaways
- Maple claims it ensures the safety of lender funds by implementing a tri-party agreement that involves the borrower, broker, and Maple Foundation
- The pool allows accredited investors, crypto companies, and DAO treasuries to earn yield on their idle stablecoins by investing in 1 month U.S. Treasury bills.
Blockchain-based lending platform Maple Finance has launched a new cash management pool that invests in one-month U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills), providing investors with an annual yield of 3.2% after a 0.5% management fee.
The offering is available to accredited investors, cryptocurrency firms, and decentralized autonomous organizations treasuries who wish to earn yields on their idle stablecoins with low risk.
Stablecoins typically do not offer yield, while crypto lending carries significant risks, as demonstrated by last year’s defaults and insolvencies in the digital asset space. Yields in traditional markets have risen following central bank interest rate hikes to combat inflation, driving increased interest in tokenized real-world assets such as government bonds.
The pool is structured as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that collects stablecoin deposits and lends them to Room40 Capital, a crypto hedge fund, to invest in T-bills. The crypto lender states that the Maple Foundation, the borrower, and the broker are party to a tri-party agreement, which protects lender funds in the event of a borrower default.
Maple does not require a lock-up period for deposits before withdrawal, making the pool ideal for managing cash held in stablecoins. The platform offers real-time monitoring of Treasury holdings secured with a custodian, and lenders can make next-day withdrawals. The pool is available on both the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
According to the official announcement, entities and individuals based outside of the United States can access the pool only after completing a three-step know-your-customer check. Maple’s cash management pool aims to simplify access to U.S. Treasury bill yields while meeting the liquidity, risk, and accounting requirements of customers.
The Maple Foundation claims to have committed to ensuring the safety of lender funds, with the borrower and broker also responsible for repayment in the event of a default. The launch of the cash management pool is in line with the increasing demand among crypto investors to earn yields by investing in traditional financial assets, as well as the growing trend towards tokenized RWAs in the cryptocurrency space.
